Social Media Un-Riddled: Can You Post Camera Roll Photos To Instagram Stories?

I am pretty prolific when it comes to social media, and the number one question I constantly get asked is about Instagram Stories.

For those who are not of the well-informed tech wise, Instagram basically has Snapchat 2.0, and they call it "Instagram Stories." This is not news, of course. But what many people do ask me, because a lot of the time, I will upload a few of my photography pieces to Instagram Stories, is that "Is there a way to upload photos from your camera roll to your Instagram Story?"

Well, if you haven't already uncovered this hack, yes there is.

When you click the camera in the top left-hand corner of Instagram, it will open you up to a screen that you can post your Story to, go Live from Instagram, or use other apps associated with Instagram-like Boomerang.

Screenshot: Amy Cooper

Once you are there, you use your finger to swipe up from the bottom of the frame (similar to if you were going to change your brightness or turn on your Bluetooth capabilities), and you should be able to see images that are 24 hours old only.

Screenshot: Amy Cooper

Now, if you're saving an image from an e-mail or Dropbox, it's probably not going to show up because it will be pulling from the origin date, but the easy way to hack this, is to take a screenshot of the image, and then it will show up in your 24 hour slot.

Another thing to consider is this: unlike Snapchat, the photos will not rotate automatically when you upload something from your 24-hour camera roll. So if you intend on using a horizontal photo, you are going to want to rotate it in your Camera Roll (or Gallery, for Android Users), prior to attempting to upload.

Ta-daaa!

Amy Cooper is the type of journalist that when asked "What do you bring to the table," she replies "I am the table.